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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!

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  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    I've spent the last couple of days staying inside the new meditation kuti (aka shipping container) at the local monastery. In fact I'm the first person to use it. The other male residents didn't like the idea of sleeping inside a metal container! I think it's great!


    lobsterShoshinBuddha-DudeBuddhadragon
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited September 2018

    They're used as bijou apartments in London. People can use one or 2 together, to create a small compact but completely habitable living space... Not all good news there, but here's a happier lass....

    lobsterBunks
  • The other male residents didn't like the idea of sleeping inside a metal container! I think it's great!

    It is great. I would love to see such affordable housing being used more widely as in @federica post ...

    I feel that more and more people are looking for a life valued on inner development, sharing and improving our resources and encouraging each other in a supportive and friendly way.

    Do not simply live. Live simply.
    Iz plan! ;)

  • Attended my cousin's wedding yesterday, she's English, he's Italian, it was a great multicultural affair and I got some great pictures of me and the family out of it :-)

    ShoshinHozanBunkslobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Hope you and your family enjoyed the day :)

    Lee82
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Introverted & Shy

    Extroverted & Outgoing

    Hozan
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    I have a Strelitzia in my sitting room... online House-plant blurb:
    "Strelitzias are tough, hardy plants which will welcome a good spell of summer outside. They will flower, but you may have to wait 3 years before you see the familiar, colourful bloom"

    I've had it 6 years. Not even a hint of a beak....

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Those ones @federica are along the path leading down to the beach....I'm taken by the colours and the hair style :)

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited September 2018

    On Monday I fly off to visit my children, family and friends in the UK and Europe for a month ( leave 1st Oct return on the 2nd Nov) ...I haven't been back in 22 years...

    I'm going to Sweden (I haven't been back there in 43 years) then Germany and Hungary ...…

    I know it's gonna be cold by the time I get there..

    I guess things would have changed too (change is inevitable suffering is optional....just like the weather :) )…

    So just letting you all know that as of the 1st Oct I won't be around to annoy you all for a while......unless that is... I get access to the internet... :)

    JeroenlobsterBunks
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @Shoshin said:
    On Monday I fly off to visit my children, family and friends in the UK and Europe for a month ( leave 1st Oct return on the 2nd Nov) ...I haven't been back in 22 years...

    I'm going to Sweden (I haven't been back there in 43 years) then Germany and Hungary ...…

    I know it's gonna be cold by the time I get there..

    I guess things would have changed too (change is inevitable suffering is optional....just like the weather :) )…

    So just letting you all know that as of the 1st Oct I won't be around to annoy you all for a while......unless that is... I get access to the internet... :)

    The countries you are visiting are extremely backward, but I do happen to know that computers have arrived.... ;)

    Shoshin
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    It's exactly 4 months to the day that our friend and newly-appointed moderator, @karasti , came to the forum.
    I know she mentioned a lot of stuff happening...

    I'd love to see her back, some time...

    @karasti .... where are you....? O.o:(

    BunkslobsterVastmind
  • @federica said:
    It's exactly 4 months to the day that our friend and newly-appointed moderator, @karasti , came to the forum.
    I know she mentioned a lot of stuff happening...

    I'd love to see her back, some time...

    @karasti .... where are you....? O.o:(

    Wow that's concerning I hope she's well? No word at all from her in that time?

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    I noticed she hadn’t contributed any of her usual lengthy and well-written pieces for a while, yes, I think @lee82 is right, it is concertina.

  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    Finally we have some beach weather down here....feels like it's been a long winter!



    ShoshinJeroenlobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited October 2018

    Well there's good news and there's bad news.. First the good news...I have access to the internet... :) and the bad news... I have access to the internet.. ;) I arrived in Hong Kong last night, made my way to the accommodation in the city centre... Very hot & humid and very tired .. Feeling refreshed this morning,had a shower then samosas for breakfast (minus the cockroaches on the counter of the food kiosk) .. Hope to check out some Buddhist temples along with other places of interest... I'm here for 3 nights then onto the UK...

    Bunkslobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @Shoshin said: Well there's good news and there's bad news.. First the good news...I have access to the internet... :) and the bad news... I have access to the internet.. ;)

    I know the pull of the forum, having been a regular visitor while on Holiday, but it is after all, my job to keep an eye on things... Like a Police Officer, a Mod is never really "off Duty"...

    But for your own health and well-being, try to avoid using the internet, and enjoy your holiday, "web-Free"... I don't know how much of a challenge it would be, but relax and enjoy the scene, and not the screen.

    Have a wonderful Holiday - and the UK is chilly right now, so wrap up warm! <3

    BunksVastmind
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    Have a great time @Shoshin - look forward to hearing how you go when you get back...

    Shoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Thanks @Bunks.. Well I've been doing a bit of sightseeing.. Took a ferry over to Hk central... Bought some weird looking chips from a KFC in a gigantic shopping mall... Saw a Junk collecting junk on the harbour... And thought that I was in heaven when at the wharf I came across this tea shop...I bought some Oolong tea...


    lobsterBunksJeroenBuddha-Dude
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    I caught a tram.. wasn't sure where it was going.. I ended up at the place where you catch the ferry to Macau... However it was late morning so I gave Macau a miss( would need a full day there).. Originally I had planned to go to Victoria Peak but the queue to catch that particular tram was enormous..It would seem that HK is one big super market..Shop after shop after shop...

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    I would have loved to have joined you for the tea shop... sounds like you’re having a great time, enjoy!

    Shoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    I visited a temple this morning.. Man Mo Temple.. I wast told it's a cultural temple Buddhist Taoist open to all spiritual people... I couldn't stay long as the smoke from the incense was too strong....
    Plus it was being renovated... I'm on the bus to the airport now.. Next stop the UK :)

    BunksBuddha-Dude
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    You would have liked the tea shop @Kerome..lots of different types of teas and many teapots :)

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Today is World Animal Day.

    BunksShoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    England swings like a pendulum do... :) I'm home... and yes things have changed... I'm now a tourist in my place of birth, having to rely on my Aussie born son for directions around London :)... Shock horror!!!.. It hasn't rained yet and the weather's been warm & sunny... What a pleasant surprise :) Well I'll be catching up with my UK family over the next couple of days, before heading to Stockholm to visit a friend...

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited October 2018

    @federica said:... I know the pull of the forum, having been a regular visitor while on Holiday, but it is after all, my job to keep an eye on things... Like a Police Officer, a Mod is never really "off Duty"...

    But for your own health and well-being, try to avoid using the internet, and enjoy your holiday, "web-Free"... I don't know how much of a challenge it would be, but relax and enjoy the scene, and not the screen.

    Have a wonderful Holiday - and the UK is chilly right now, so wrap up warm! <3

    @Shoshin said:
    England swings like a pendulum do... :) I'm home... and yes things have changed... I'm now a tourist in my place of birth, having to rely on my Aussie born son for directions around London :)... Shock horror!!!.. It hasn't rained yet and the weather's been warm & sunny... What a pleasant surprise :) Well I'll be catching up with my UK family over the next couple of days, before heading to Stockholm to visit a friend...

    Can't keep away eh? It's ok, I get it. Going on line, reading and posting are compulsive habits which are much stronger than we believe, and much harder to break than we'd like to think....
    We'd all like to think that we can completely do without them, we're not tied or addicted... but our dear friend Hozan, in spite of his shedding an awful lot of techno-dross, still comes back to us here....
    Is it curiosity? A desire to share? A fear that if we quit, we shall be forgotten?
    All of the above?

    To grossly misquote Browning:
    "Life, we are in Technology's hand; How strange now, looks the life it makes us lead: so free we seem - so fettered fast we are!"

    Buddha-Dude
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    It would seem there are unhealthy habits ( ones which cause one to worry& stress out about...where one wants to stop doing something/ having a "desire/craving" not to, but can't seem to break the habit hence the stressing out about stressing out about stressing out... FB comes to mind )...

    Then there are just habitual patterns of life, where life just flows, which are stress & worry free... For 'me' NB is just the go with the flow no worries habitual pattern 'type'.... :)

    federicaHozan
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Cool. But I think you may be missing my point. ;)<3

  • HozanHozan Veteran
    edited October 2018

    I am off all social media. Today I am taking it a step farther/ further ? Its easy to return here. The people are great. The conversation is good. There is a lot one can learn here.

    But this moment has been coming for me for some time....it began with shedding all social media....today Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as supreme court justice...the US and the world is travelling down a dark path.....the time I do not spend on social media I spend looking at politics...so yes the internet can be a very addictive place. @federica you ask some very salient questions above. Why indeed do we return to reinhabit our online haunts. Our motivations count for a lot. I have to admit I find myself online too often. From this day I go into a self imposed internet exile ( not just social media). I will have to keep my work email but thats it for now. I have a buddhist practise to deepen, a real world to be a part of. I do despair of current events, womens rights, rights for minority groups, the rise of the far right, authoritarianism, global warming, online addiction.
    Being online isn't helping me. I'm not going to pretend these things aren't happening but neither will I be found online. The earliest I will be back online is when a Democratic president is in the White House but maybe not even then. Like Yoda on Dagobah and Luke on AhchTo I begin my self imposed exile. I understand @karasti need to live an offline life for a while. I wish all of you lovely people here happiness and health as I go offline - literally. Here begins my offline life and I am happy to be embarking on this adventure. It's October 06th. I may not be around this way again so I bid you farewell. Be happy. Be well.

    lobsterJeroenShoshinBuddha-Dude
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Farewell @Hozan... Safe journey...

    Hozan
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Good luck @Hozan ... here’s hoping that a non-digital life brings further understanding of the dharma. Wishing you all the best!

    Hozan
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Yesterday I walked along the Thames from Rotherhithe to Tower Bridge loom




    In the evening we went to an Ethiopian 'Vegan' cafe for dinner in Dalston Junction .. On the way back to my son's place, we saw the bridge lit up...

    lobsterJeroenBunks
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    The bridge looks quite nice lit up....
    Heaps of tourists on the bridge...from all over the place...

    Off to Stockholm tomorrow... Some peace & quiet :)

    Bunkslobster
  • Glad you're enjoying your trip @Shoshin. I get to London about 4 times a year and I always walk rather than take the tube, just to take it all in.

    In other news, we just got a tropical fish tank, the kids love watching and feeding them!

    lobsterShoshin
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Oh, nice, @Lee82 ! We used to have one - it was better than the telly, any time!

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    If you’ve ever wondered how bees get a balanced diet despite eating only pollen and nectar, here is a scientist’s answer for you...

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/problem-solving/do-bees-get-balanced-diet-eat-pollen-nectar/

    Buddha-Dudelobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited October 2018

    Just to let you all know, as the event is just around the corner, that Hallowe'en, Jack O' Lanterns and 'Goolies and Geesties' all originated in Scotland. So we can't really blame the USA for EVERYTHING....

    So if you plan to dress up as a ghost, use a tartan sheet.

    You're welcome.

    Vastmind
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Today is an unusually beautiful November day; it's chilly, but not unbearably so, the sky is a clear blue and there's a whiff of 'weather-to-come' in the air... Tonight, countless numbers of people in the UK will enjoy "Bonfire Night", normally, the only thing to brighten this otherwise dull, "No-n descript" month..

    Sums it up...

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited November 2018

    I've had an amazing time visiting family and friends in London Halifax.Sweden.Germany.and Hungary...And the stop overs in Hong Kong where I did some island hopping... Cheung Chau & Mui Wo islands and ferry jet to Macau ( not realising that I needed to go through immigration customs and security- lucky I took my passport with me ) ...

    I visited Mui Wo on my last day, it is where the Big Buddha Monastery is- however i never got to visit the Monastery, I had run out of time and had to catch the ferry back to HK central then another to Kowloon then bus to the airport...no rest for the wicked

    The weather in Europe was fantastic (for this time of year).... Berlin & Budapest it was like summer, however Sodertalje (Sweden) my first port of call on leaving the UK, was nice ( daytime temp reaching 18C ) however when I got to Berlin it was in the low to mid 20s and Budapest was even warmer...

    The coldest time was when I returned to London after visiting friends in Halifax...27th October It was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey ...fortunately it was the day before I was to fly out to Hong Kong ( where the weather was hot sticky and humid...just how I like it :)...well apart from the typhoons...) ...

    Note : I was under the impression that the expression that freeze the balls off a brass monkey came from the symbols hanging outside the Pawn shop ...

    lobster
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Well I had my first skinny dip of the season...It was refreshing, really wakes the senses up... :)

    Bunks
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Stan Lee has died. No more cameo roles. Well, not unless they CGI him. Which wouldn't surprise me at all...
    I await the next movie and obvious tribute therein...
    He really was a Marvel.

    Kundo
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Whilst in London I took a boat trip along with my son his girlfriend and my sister to Greenwich village ( the original Greenwich village :) ) ...My son and his girlfriend wanted to get some stuff from a quaint little health food shop in the market...Whilst there my sister asked if they sold "Tiger nuts" ( no not tiger's nuts :lol: ) they are a form of nut grass...Anyhow to cut a long story short, we managed to get some from the shop a week or so later, this was after they ordered them in...

    As a child I often wondered why they were called tiger nuts,then somebody pointed out the stripy patterns look a bit like tiger stripes...

    As children we used to go to the corner shop and buy a bag of tiger nuts, and licorice roots... back then they were cheap ( both can be bought in health food shops and the tiger nuts are a sort after super health food...5 UK pounds a small bag....go figure)...

    I had some fun and games getting them through NZ customs, the customs officers gave me strange looks, they had never heard of tiger nuts...

  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    @Shoshin said:

    I had some fun and games getting them through NZ customs, the customs officers gave me strange looks, they had never heard of tiger nuts...

    Good thing you weren't trying to bring them in to Australia, you would've got on the latest episode of "Border Patrol".

    Cue dramatic music

    This foreign so-and-so was trying to bring lethal products in to OUR country to devastate our wildlife.....

    =)

    ShoshinkandofedericaKundo
  • kandokando northern Ireland Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    Whilst in London I took a boat trip along with my son his girlfriend and my sister to Greenwich village ( the original Greenwich village :) ) ...My son and his girlfriend wanted to get some stuff from a quaint little health food shop in the market...Whilst there my sister asked if they sold "Tiger nuts" ( no not tiger's nuts :lol: ) they are a form of nut grass..

    Any male tigers tuning in will be heaving sighs of relief........ Great stories and photos @Shoshin :)

    Shoshin
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    I don't mean to put a damper on things but that's PURE liquorice root. And if you have heart problems or high blood pressure, you need to approach with caution.

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Everything in moderation I guess...Thanks for the link @federica

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    That's cool, @shoshin, I got my buddies' backs.... ;)

    Shoshin
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    Hello @Buddhadragon - welcome back! =)

    HozanBuddhadragon
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